Foul Play Turns Missing Case Chilling

Two red warning beacons lit on a barrier — CHILLING CASE FOUL PLAY

Police say foul play is involved in the disappearance of 36-year-old Chantel Brooks, and their search has gone from routine to relentless.

Story Snapshot

Fairfield police now believe Chantel Brooks’ disappearance involved foul play.
Investigators executed dozens of warrants and ran large-scale air and ground searches.
Brooks was last seen near a CVS in Fairfield after leaving work in San Francisco.
Her black Infiniti SUV pinged a license plate camera in Oakland and has not been found.

Police escalate case after weeks of intensive searching

Fairfield Police Department leaders said their team believes foul play is involved in the disappearance of Chantel Brooks. Lieutenant Kelly Rombach said that detectives remain active on the case and reached this view based on evidence gathered so far.

Police described a fast-moving operation. They served dozens of search warrants, coordinated ground searches with rescue teams, and flew drones in grid patterns to scan targeted areas. The department is also working with the Solano County District Attorney’s Office to align on the next legal steps.

Officers asked the public to share any leads on Brooks or her vehicle and pushed a dedicated case email for tips: [email protected]. That move signals a case that hinges on time and detail. Police often rely on what people saw, what cameras caught, and what digital records show.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) guidance in no-body cases trains investigators to map a victim’s routine and last known steps when direct proof is scarce early on.

The final known hours and a trail that moved south

Brooks finished her shift in San Francisco on Eddy Street late on July 16 and drove to Fairfield. Surveillance video later showed her near a CVS store in the 300 block of East Travis Boulevard around 1:45 a.m. on July 17, approaching her vehicle. That is the last confirmed sighting in Fairfield.

After that, an automated license plate camera in Oakland detected her black 2021 Infiniti sport utility vehicle. Police say the vehicle has not been recovered. That gap, and the shift in cities, shaped the search grid.

Automated license plate reader systems can flag vehicles in near real time and help stitch together a route. Agencies report recovering missing people and critical vehicles using these reader networks when time matters most.

A single hit can anchor a new search zone or a canvass. In this case, the Oakland detection gave detectives a place to pull new footage, recheck traffic cameras, and knock on doors. That is the grind that moves these cases.

Why “foul play” and what that means for the hunt

Police did not disclose the specific evidence that led to the foul-play assessment, which is common while warrants and interviews are underway. The label signals that investigators see signs of criminal conduct. That shifts resources, speeds legal steps, and tightens information control.

The Fairfield team tied their view to what they learned from searches and warrants, not a hunch. That aligns with standard playbooks that route suspicious disappearances into a higher-intensity track fast.

Police in Fairfield, California, said they believe "foul play" is involved in the disappearance of 36-year-old Chantel Brooks, who went missing a month ago after she left her work at a hotel in San Francisco. https://t.co/0OvAIL83Y9

— ABC News (@ABC) August 19, 2026

This case indicates you follow the facts, not rumors. Police say they are doing exactly that. They built a defined timeline, locked down the last confirmed video sighting, and pulled a license plate hit in another city.

They linked up with county prosecutors to clear the path for charges if the evidence supports it. That pace reflects a bias for action. The faster the team captures perishable video and phone data, the better the odds of finding Brooks.

How readers can help right now

People who were near the CVS on East Travis Boulevard between 1:15 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. on July 17 should review their phones for photos or video. Drivers with dashcams who traveled through that lot or nearby streets should review footage from that window.

Anyone in Oakland who saw a black 2021 Infiniti sport utility vehicle parked oddly or abandoned after July 17 could hold a key detail. Share even small leads with Fairfield police at [email protected].